The fact that she was (the last known surviving person to have been) born in the 1800s is pretty amazing, really. She was born in the 19th century and lived through the entire 20th century regardless of when you think it started, and we're quite a long way into the 21st now. The last First World War veteran died a few years ago, but this woman was older than him - she'd not have needed to lie about her age in order to fight.

Quote:

Her doctor of 27 years, Carlo Bava, had told AFP news agency that she rarely ate vegetables or fruit.